Masala Oats Recipe

I have always looked for complex recipes, mostly non vegetarian, in my quest for cooking ‘something new’. All this while, I forgot that I haven’t done my basics like dal, pulao, dalia, khichdi, etc. This lockdown, I have started learning what is called everyday cooking. The staple of North & West Indian breakfast is Dalia (Bulgar porridge). And a healthier version of it is Oats Dalia, also called Masala Oats. The cooking is pretty simple, the only thing that takes time here is the chopping of veggies.

Ingredients

• 1 small cup jumbo oats
• 1.5 cups water
• 1 tsp jeera (cumin)
• 1 tsp dhania powder (coriander powder)
• 1 tsp Himalayan Pink Salt
• Turmeric 1 pinch
• 1/2 tsp Garam masala
• 1/4 tsp Red chilli powder
• 1 tomato chopped
• 1 carrot (finely diced or scraped)
• 5 tbsp each finely chopped red & green capsicum (about one fourth capsicum)
• 1 small onion
• Chopped French Beans – about 10
• Broccoli – Few florets
• Sweetcorn & peas

Prepare

Cook

• Pour oil, let it heat up, sprinkle jeera.
• Once jeera starts sputtering, add onions and fry until brown, add ginger-garlic paste.
• Add all veggies and sauté.
• After 5 minutes, dump the oats into the pan, sprinkle the dhania powder, pinch of turmeric and salt. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Pour water and cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Now dim the heat and cover the pan with lid, let it cook for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to check the texture of oats. You can take it off as soon as it reached the texture you want – runny or dry. Ideally it should be creamy.